Published: Thursday, June 12, 2014 at 8:29 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, June 12, 2014 at 8:29 p.m.

It was still near freezing the first week in April when Jimmy Cantrelle was harvesting crawfish from his ponds in Raceland.

The catch that week wasn't very good — about half of what he would normally expect — but his early tenacity paid off.

Despite the fifth-coldest winter on record in south Louisiana, pond crawfish farmers and local restaurants reported better than expected results this season.

Cantrelle said his small profit this year may have even made up for two dismal years in 2013 and 2012.

“The last two years I lost money,” Cantrelle said. “The price was $3 per pound at the beginning of the season. This year it was $4 per pound at the beginning of the season. That helped us recuperate the losses.”

The key was the timing. The cold weather kept wholesale prices high above $4 per pound well into April, while crawfish from the Bell River Atchafalaya Basin region were still lagging far behind.

Astronomically high prices were an early boon for farmers. Stephen Minvielle, president of the Louisiana Crawfish Farmers Association, said he had restaurants from Texas approach him directly about arranging a crawfish pickup.

“A lot of people don't realize how big a draw crawfish is for the economy of restaurants,” Minvielle said. “I was getting calls from people in Longview, Texas, who were wanting to drive down just to buy a sack.”

“You lose 70 days of production, you just can't make that up,” Minvielle said. “Prices came down like they did, our volumes did pick up in April and May. But with the price being down, the volume did not make up the differential.”

Minvielle said his farm did not have a terrible year but also did not perform exceptionally well.

Doug Davis, owner and manager of Nancy's Seafood Shack in Houma, said the crawfish were smaller than normal, but late volume and high early prices made for a successful year.

“We still ended up doing better than last year,” Davis said. “The size wasn't exactly what we would have liked to have seen.”

The restaurateur said this season's early prices were the highest he has ever seen for crawfish in Houma.

Early scarcity gave way to a flood of mudbugs in April and in early May that sent wholesale prices plummeting to below $2 per pound.

Wholesale prices at Nancy's on Thursday were $1.45 per pound. Davis said he plans to carry crawfish through the Fourth of July weekend.

Basin crawfish fishermen, who fish for wild crawfish rather than maintain their own farms and feedstock, have extended their season to help make up for the early lull, Minvielle said.

Cantrelle is already draining his ponds and preparing to grow a new crop of rice, the food he uses for his crawfish, for the upcoming season.

“What we're doing right now, we are chopping, draining. One pond drained and ready to chop. Another we're going to finish today,” Cantrelle said. “We keep on learning things. We experiment every year. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. But it's worked out really well so far.”

Staff Writer John Harper can be reached at 857-2209 or john.harper@houmatoday.com. Follow him on twitter @JC_HARP.

<p>It was still near freezing the first week in April when Jimmy Cantrelle was harvesting crawfish from his ponds in Raceland. </p><p>The catch that week wasn't very good — about half of what he would normally expect — but his early tenacity paid off. </p><p>Despite the fifth-coldest winter on record in south Louisiana, pond crawfish farmers and local restaurants reported better than expected results this season. </p><p>Cantrelle said his small profit this year may have even made up for two dismal years in 2013 and 2012. </p><p>“The last two years I lost money,” Cantrelle said. “The price was $3 per pound at the beginning of the season. This year it was $4 per pound at the beginning of the season. That helped us recuperate the losses.”</p><p>The key was the timing. The cold weather kept wholesale prices high above $4 per pound well into April, while crawfish from the Bell River Atchafalaya Basin region were still lagging far behind. </p><p>Astronomically high prices were an early boon for farmers. Stephen Minvielle, president of the Louisiana Crawfish Farmers Association, said he had restaurants from Texas approach him directly about arranging a crawfish pickup.</p><p>“A lot of people don't realize how big a draw crawfish is for the economy of restaurants,” Minvielle said. “I was getting calls from people in Longview, Texas, who were wanting to drive down just to buy a sack.”</p><p>“You lose 70 days of production, you just can't make that up,” Minvielle said. “Prices came down like they did, our volumes did pick up in April and May. But with the price being down, the volume did not make up the differential.”</p><p>Minvielle said his farm did not have a terrible year but also did not perform exceptionally well. </p><p>Doug Davis, owner and manager of Nancy's Seafood Shack in Houma, said the crawfish were smaller than normal, but late volume and high early prices made for a successful year. </p><p>“We still ended up doing better than last year,” Davis said. “The size wasn't exactly what we would have liked to have seen.” </p><p>The restaurateur said this season's early prices were the highest he has ever seen for crawfish in Houma. </p><p>Early scarcity gave way to a flood of mudbugs in April and in early May that sent wholesale prices plummeting to below $2 per pound. </p><p>Wholesale prices at Nancy's on Thursday were $1.45 per pound. Davis said he plans to carry crawfish through the Fourth of July weekend. </p><p>Basin crawfish fishermen, who fish for wild crawfish rather than maintain their own farms and feedstock, have extended their season to help make up for the early lull, Minvielle said. </p><p>Cantrelle is already draining his ponds and preparing to grow a new crop of rice, the food he uses for his crawfish, for the upcoming season. </p><p>“What we're doing right now, we are chopping, draining. One pond drained and ready to chop. Another we're going to finish today,” Cantrelle said. “We keep on learning things. We experiment every year. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. But it's worked out really well so far.” </p><p>Staff Writer John Harper can be reached at 857-2209 or john.harper@houmatoday.com. Follow him on twitter @JC_HARP.</p>